take it slow (for those who love you most)
by renee walker
Summary: Dominique isn't super close with a lot of her cousins, which is why it's odd when Lucy sits across from her in the library. / Or: a wholesome story about two cousins ft. studying, Scorpius Malfoy, and bets


_written for hogwarts school first aid: rice method assignment. prompt was task #3 (compression): write about two people getting close to each other. basically unedited, sorry. roughly 3500 words, excluding this author's note. not cursed child compliant. title was inspired by "you have more friends than you know" written by jeff marx and mervyn warren._

* * *

The thing is, Dominique's not super close to her cousins. She's _really_ close to Louis, almost as close to Victoire, kind of buddies with Teddy. However, she doesn't think she's carried a full conversation with Rose since she first entered Hogwarts. Out of all her cousins, she probably talks with Roxanne or Al the most. Ickle Al may be in Slytherin with her - she _paved the fucking path_ for him, the family gave her twice the amount of shit they gave him; Uncle Ron couldn't look her in the eye for 3 _months _\- but he's often all tied up with his own Fifth Year squad.

So: Dominique's got her own friends, and her siblings, and she's doing fantastic.

That's why it's so odd when Lucy - Uncle Percy's daughter, all flannel and slouchy, oversized denim; thick black hair taking away the trademark Weasley Red - slides into the seat across from her in the library.

Dominique raises an eyebrow at her, but Lucy only gives her a little half-smile. She flips open one of the three massive tombs she's brought with her, opens a highlighter with her teeth, and goes to town on it. Dominique elects to ignore her.

Then it happens the next time she's studying, and the next time. By the time she's lost track of how often Lucy has been sitting with her to study, it's become a regular pattern. Fortunately, Dominique isn't too bothered by it. Lucy's quiet and polite about Dominique's space, keeping her abundance of study supplies to her side of the desk.

Then Lucy begins to actually talk to her. Dominique is bemused, but intrigued. Lucy has always been the mysterious, whimsical artist of the family, and while she's never been interested enough to actually crack her, she isn't going to stop someone from unveiling themselves in front of her.

It begins with little questions about school, periodic and well-timed for when Dominique sits back to stretch her hands or stands to grab another _fucking _tomb on Transfiguration. Then, it branches out more.

"Are you coming to the party on Friday?" Lucy asks, one day.

Dominique is packing up, done for the day. She has a massive headache, and when she made eye contact with Jacqueline Zabini 5 minutes ago across the library, they shared a look of mutual, pained understanding. She's pretty sure Jackie's going to be breaking out some Firewhiskey tonight to unwind, and she wants _in_ on that. These are the only reasons why the question throws her off enough that her face shows how confused she is by the question.

She quickly schools her expression back into a respectable resting bitch face. "What party?"

"Hufflepuff's are hosting," Lucy says. While it explains why _Lucy_ knows of a party she didn't, it doesn't make it any less weird. "In the Common Room," she adds.

"The Common Room," repeats Dominique, flat. It's the stupidest idea, as the Room of Requirement isn't in use this Friday. It's so much easier to get drunk, play promiscuous games, dance to music at full-volume, and hook-up in an area where your Head of House isn't extremely likely to show up.

Lucy is nonplussed by her tone, and smiles at her instead, nodding.

All signs are pointing to this being a true Hufflepuff party: bottles of smuggled Butterbeer, lots of baked goods available, and dancing that swings you around instead of bringing you closer. But, Dominique is a little interested. It's not every day her cousins bring her to a party like this. They usually think of her as too stuck-up, or bitchy, or whatever for this kind of thing. They're not wrong, it's not her usual scene, but -

"We'll see," she says, non-commital. She finishes stuffing her last scroll into her bag, and nods at Lucy as she sweeps out.

Her headache has definitely increased. She drinks from the bottle of Firewhiskey, taken straight from Jacqueline's hands when she makes it into the Sixth Year Girls Dorm.

Her best friend laughs at her. "Easy," she drawls, reclining against her bed. She's dressed in nothing but a bralette and giant sweatpants, held up by the tightened drawstring around her waist. She looks like every one of Dominique's wet dreams brought to life.

Dominique shakes her head, holds the bottle out like an offering. She asks, "Wanna crash a Hufflepuff party with me?"

To her credit, she barely even blinks in surprise. "Well, if you insist."

(They do actually go the party, which turns out exactly as Dominique predicted. Louis and Roxanne are also there, playing a silly game of Truth or Dare. Lucy plays guitar in the corner, sets off a little dance party which Jacqueline swings Dominique up and into.) (She wouldn't tell her family, but she really, genuinely enjoy it.) (She's pretty sure Lucy knows.)

* * *

"Hey, Luce," Dominique says, on her way out of the library, exactly one week later. "You wanna come to a party?"

Lucy looks up, her mouth already curved around an easy smile. "Yeah, sure."

She nods at her, pleased. "Good, now come on, let's go."

"Is the party right now?" laughs Lucy, but she's already packing up. This is probably the biggest reason Dominique has been able to stand her. Out of all of their family, Lucy is by the far the most chill, and radiates a kind of cool calmness at all times. Dominique wouldn't have survived a single, toxic study session with Molly, who would have just _radiated_ stress.

But, she does still _know_ Lucy, and knows that she doesn't exactly swing by the Room of Requirement regularly enough to know about the kind of parties that go on. So she knows that she isn't going to show up dressed correctly for _this_ kind of party. "We're gonna get you all dressed up, sweetheart."

She isn't _lying_. An hour later finds Lucy with her eyes all done up, cheeks dusted with highlight, blush and bronzer. Jacqueline had handed her a silk minidress, which she had looked amused by, but gone with. Paired with her own chunky sneakers, Lucy looks _good_, and when they get to the party, she fits right in.

Jacqueline presses a kiss to Dominique's cheek before slipping away to mingle or to grab alcohol. Lucy leans in close, touches her arm. "Hey," she says, right in her ear. "Thanks for this."

The theme for this party is a little more extra than usual. It's being hosted by the Sixth Year Gryffindor and Slytherin boys. There's a lot of neon, lights that highlight the white of Lucy's shoes, and also a lot of slinky dresses and fitted shirts. Lucy blends in a lot more than if she had worn the sweatpants she'd shown up to the Hufflepuff party in.

Dominique shrugs. "Don't mention it." She gives her a warning look to let her know she's a little serious. The cousins might think that she's gone soft, and she can't have _more_ of them approach her.

Lucy laughs. "I mean, not just for getting me ready. I mean, thanks for letting me crash your date night too."

She stills, turns her head very slowly, and narrows her eyes. "I'm not dating Jacqueline," she tells her, flat. Their relationship may be very tactile, and Dominique may be out of the closet as a raging lesbian, but she thinks she's hidden her real feelings for Jacqueline quite well. Jacqueline, at least, has treated her with the same intimacy and comfortableness she treats all of her friends with. (Dominique is _fine_, she swears.)

Her cousin quirks a smile at her, and shrugs. "Whatever you say, man."

* * *

Dominique lets the year continue like that. She and Lucy invite each other out, study together, and Dominique even deigns to say "hi" in the hallway. Exams happens; James, Fred and Molly all graduate; she watches Al ask out Dylan - a nonbinary Ravenclaw with a wicked tongue - in a showy, extravegant fashion that makes her think he belongs in Gryffindor.

"Congrats," she says, later, when his head is resting on her shoulder. It's late at night, the night before the last train leaves, and they're alone in the Common Room. She might not talk to him often, but she does have a bit of a soft spot for Al. "You fucking Gryffindor, you, getting your mans."

"I hate you," he says, voice flat. "Truly, with all my heart."

She grinds her knuckles into his shoulder. "Try not to forget about Scorpius, he might cry about it and you know none of us do _feelings_ in here."

Al elbows her in the side, and drapes himself across her lap. "Say that I'll forget about him again, I dare you. I love him the most, he knows that, and he'll use his fucking sonic hearing to come barging in here to fight you." It's a running joke in Slytherin about what good senses Scorpius has - his hearing range is incredible and means that not a single person can talk shit about him while he's in the same room.

Dominique smiles at him when he can't see her. She says, "Hey, you know I'm happy for you."

Al is quite for a moment, before he turns to press his face into her side, like he did when they were little. "Yeah," he says, happy, "I know."

On the train, Al visits their compartment and brings Scorpius, and Lucy. Scorpius goes to Jacqueline, leaning against her and sprawling out. His long legs take up more than the rest of the seat. Dominique's sharing a seat with Marie Davies, Anthony Ratchford sitting on the floor between her legs. Lucy picks her way over to her, and Al takes a seat on the floor beside Anthony.

"Hey," Lucy whispers. She keeps a careful distance between their shoulders, and Dominique is glad. Aside from exactly five people in this world, she doesn't feel comfortable with touch unless she initiates it. "You know how Al asked out Dylan the other day?"

Dominnique is immediately wary. "What about it?" she replies, tossing her hair back, and taking a covert look around the room. Jacqueline and Scorpius are having an intense conversation in soft whispers across the compartment. Al, Marie and Anthony are talking to each other, but she's pretty sure they're eavesdropping too.

Lucy's eyes are bright when she looks at her, smile a little too big. "When're _you_ gonna make a move?"

Without hesitation, Dominique pushes Lucy off the train seat. On the floor, she and Al fucking _lose it_.

"And here I thought we stepped on people to get what we want," says Scorpius, tone Sahara-dry, "instead of pushing people over." Dominique rolls her eyes at him, and he grins back.

* * *

Every year, the Weasley families hold big summer parties and picnics. It's always crowded with family and friends, people with too much honour, integrity and hypocrisy.

This year is no different. Mid-July, her mom is waiting for her after her morning run to tell her that they're going out. Dominique carefully doesn't let her irritation show, but lets out a heavy sigh when she makes it to her room.

They Portkey to this Wizarding beach on the coast of France, a secluded little thing with blue, blue water. Dominique neatly avoids Uncle Ron and Uncle Percy, talks almost exclusively to exactly 10 people out of the dozens there, and draws Lucy into as many conversations as possible to catch the surprise flitting over their relatives' faces when they see them pleasantly interacting.

There's a lot of prejudice running through the bones of the family, a lot of ideas of what certain people should be and who they should interact with. You'd think, Dominique muses, that as summer progresses, they'll get less surprised that she's actually making friendly with her own cousins.

"That sucks, man," Lucy says sympathetically, shaking her head. They're taking a break from swimming, sprawled out on two towels, a little ways apart from the crowd of towels and clothes that belong to James, Roxanne and Fred. "Do you want me to say something to them about it?"

"I called Uncle Ron out the first year," Dominique tells her, keeping her voice mild. Not all the cousins know the story. She knows Rose and Hugo do, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, her own immediate family, but she doesn't think it was well-advertised that an 11-year-old exposed a man over 20 years her senior. "I basically told him to stop being a dick around me and treating me differently. I hadn't changed because I got Slytherin. I'm not a bad person because of that."

"That sucks," she says, "that you had to say that to him when he should've already known. But you did really help Al, you know, and I don't know if you know this, but you make it a lot easier for Scorpius to be here. Like, to even have him at family stuff. He told me it was easier to bring him after the first year that you brought back Marie and Jacqueline."

Dominique slides Lucy a look, feeling appreciative and apprehensive to show it. "How come you've never brought anybody back? I know I'm like, the most important person in your life but you have to have at least one other friend, don't you?"

"Don't be a bitch," she laughs. She runs a hand over her head, smoothing back her frizzing hair. "I've just never really felt the need to bring friends to family stuff. I feel like you and Al, you bring people that remind you of home to our family home. I've just, always felt content here, you know? To me, places we go, stuff we do, stuff that's said - it doesn't always make family home, but it's family, you know?"

Dominique looks at her, finds that she's looking back. "No," she says, after a beat, and that's the truth - honest, raw and open. "I don't really know. They're family, but not all of them are in my heart."

Lucy smiles at her, soft and understanding. Dominique knows, without a doubt, that Lucy has wormed her fucking way into her heart and that she's not mad about it in the slightest.

* * *

Dominique was born on August 14. Closer to her birthday, when everyone's over at Uncle Percy's house, Lucy asks what she wants as a present.

"I'm shit with coming up with presents," she laughs. "Just tell me what you want, okay? This way, you don't get, like, a toaster."

"Come on," Dominique says, condescending. They're standing out on the porch while everyone else is in the house or backyward. The late afternoon sun turns Dominique's hair from strawberry blonde to gold. "What have I always wanted?"

Lucy shrugs, nonplussed. "To fuck Scorpius Malfoy?" She's only half-kidding. Scorpius looks like angelic sin half the time, and _everybody's_ eyes follow him in the hall when he walks by. Dominique is only human, after all, and she's seen his dick print through his sweatpants.

Dominique only snorts. "Nice try," she tells her, her mouth curving into a red smirk. "Try harder."

"Bro, I really don't know. What _do _you want?"

Dominique's smirk widens into a grin. Her eyes are bright and mocking when she says, "It's a guessing game, Luce. If you don't know the tea in Hogwarts, you're denser than Aunt Hermione's biscuits."

Lucy rolls her eyes. "You're so dramatic," she says, but she's laughing. She shoves her hands into her pockets, sways back to lean against the wall; closes her eyes. "I don't care enough for you to tell me what you want. Just, try not to be a bitch to Al and Scor, 'kay?"

"I'm always a fucking bitch," replies Dominique, not even missing a beat. "Now let's go, I think supper's starting soon."

* * *

The family always has a big party for any birthday, regardless if the person being celebrated actually wants the party or not. August 14th, Dominique's already made it very clear that she is not going to be available. Jacqueline has been out of the country since July, and is Portkeying back in just for her. She's planning to Portkey to Paris with her and some friends to eat brunch, go clubbing, and cross something off her bucketlist (watch the sunset in Muggle Paris, at the top of the Eiffel Tower).

So, August 13th, she dutifully shows up the Burrow and makes nice with everyone. That morning, Victoire went for a morning swim with her, and gave her an early birthday gift: tickets to see the European Quidditch Nations League match of France versus England. Louis made her breakfast in bed, and they had one of their long, long conversations about life.

At the Burrow, James, Fred, Roxanne, Hugo, Teddy, and _fucking_ Al all dog-pile on her, yelling "happy birthday!" into her ear.

"I'm going to kill you all slowly and burn your bodies," Dominique tells them coldly, when she's finally allowed up for air. She readjusts her dress, makes sure her hair falls perfectly. Al gives her his best wide-eyed puppy-dog look, and she raises an eyebrow at him, unmoved. "Except for you. You, I'll carve out your eyes and wear them as a necklace."

"Four out of five," someone says, behind her, "that was almost creative, but you get points for how graphic it was." Dominique would know that voice anywhere, and when she turns (slowly, she's not going to seem desperate enough to launch herself backwards) she's greeted with Jacqueline's smiling face. She's gotten her hair done in braids, piled on top of her head, and is wearing this tiny skater dress. Around her neck is her expensive crystal necklance (_for c__larity of mind_, she'd told Dominique, once) but the glittering gemstones on her fingers are new.

Jacqueline smirks at her. "Are you going to just look at the view or are you going to come here and appreciate it?"

Dominique thinks _fuck it_, and pulls Jacqueline to her, arms tight around her waist. "Fuck," she says, "I've missed you, you beautiful fucking shit."

"You're getting all soft on me," drawls Jaqueline. When they pull apart, though, her eyes are soft and sweet, a warm little smile on her face. It's the kind of look she doesn't see her give anyone else, and that smile is Dominique's favourite thing ever and - Merlin's pants, she's been an idiot.

* * *

"Hey," Dominique says, later, when she and Lucy are alone. "Thanks."

Lucy winks at her. "Don't mention it," she says, easy, pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

Dominique touches her shoulder, gentle. "I mean, not just for bringing Jaqueline to me. Thanks for helping run damage control, too."

It takes a lot of pride to say that, but there had been a _lot_ of questions from aunts, uncles and cousins, and a couple of distant relatives had turned out a little homophobic. Dominique had been pulled along from person to person, refusing to answer questions because it wasn't any of their goddamn business, and Lucy had stepped with an excuse that Dominique was "needed in the kitchen." She's been hiding in the kitchen nook in the renovated basement ever since. Jacqueline had wandered down a little while ago to kiss her again and cuddle, but had gone upstairs to say hi to Al and Scorpius, who had arrived with him.

But, regardless of all of this, of Lucy keeping her company down here since the beginning, she just smiles at her, offers her a cookie. "It's chill."

* * *

Al is the one running interference, though, at the end-of-summer family barbeque where James shows up hand-in-hand with Scorpius fucking Malfoy.

"I think I'm going to join the pool," Dominique says, after about 10 minutes of watching a passive-aggressive shit-show commence. "5 galleons that Uncle Ron's gonna lose it in the kitchen.

Lucy just laughs. "They'll be fine," she says, "Uncle Ron'll be fine. But also, I'd say if you give it another 15 minutes, James is gonna storm out and bring half the cousins and Scorpius with him, meaning that at least one firework will be set. If you wanted to bet on that."

Dominique snorts, and goes to place their bets.

(They win.)


End file.
